A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, after upbeat Chinese trade data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 27 points to 13,354.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 3.60 points to 1,459.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 7 points to 2,729.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.01%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.12%, German DAX 30 Index surged 0.23% and French CAC 40 Index fell 0.23%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.70%, China's Shanghai Composite climbing 0.37% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 0.32%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.59% and India's Sensex fell 0.02%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at RBC Capital downgraded VeriFone Systems PAY from “outperform” to “sector perform.” The target price for VeriFone has been lowered from $44 to $36. VeriFone shares gained 1.52% to close at $31.42 yesterday. Breaking news

• Main Street Capital Corporation MAIN announced today that it recently closed two transactions, including a new portfolio investment and the partial exit of an existing portfolio investment. To read the full news, click here.
• Destination Maternity DEST will open the first Destination Maternity® store in Canada on Thursday, January 10 in Calgary, Alberta at the Kingsland Village retail development just south of Chinook Centre on Macleod Trail. To read the full news, click here.
• K12 LRN today announced the strengthening of its leadership team with the appointment of Nathaniel Davis as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, with oversight over all operational and corporate functions of the company. To read the full news, click here.
• Caterpillar CAT today announced the joint opening of a state-of-the-art proving ground and a large wheel loader manufacturing facility in Tongzhou, Jiangsu Province. To read the full news, click here.